


Friends are a lot like plants

by amaresu



Category: Leverage
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-07-14
Updated: 2009-07-14
Packaged: 2017-10-02 10:47:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amaresu/pseuds/amaresu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Friendship isn't something that can be taught.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Friends are a lot like plants

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to dramaturgca for the beta.

“Hardison? Are you busy?”

The question came from behind him. Alec took some time to consider. He was in the middle typing up a comment that would, if he said yes, probably get him banned from the Doctor Who Forums. He didn't want to get banned, so with a decisive click, he closed out of the tab and turned to look at Parker. “Nothing that can't wait. What's up?”

Parker let out her breath and plopped down on the chair next to him. “I just want some advice.”

“I can do advice.”

“I've never really had any friends.” She paused there and just as he was going to say something she continued. “Not people that I actually cared about. You know?”

Alec didn't know. Most of his friends were online, but they were still friends. “Not really, but keep talking.”

“Okay.” She nodded her head and stood up. With quick movements she started to pace across the room. “I don't know how to be friends with people. I mean you and Eliot get along. And Eliot and Nate and Sophie gets along with everybody. You all make it look so easy.”

Maybe he should have gone ahead and flamed that idiot. “Let me think for a second.” Parker seemed to have a difficult time with things everyone else took for granted. Like taking care of that plant. “Okay, it's like your plant.”

“My plant?” Parker looked confused now, but willing to listen.

“Yeah, remember how you didn't know how to take care of it at first?” That was the understatement of the century, the poor thing had practically been dead when she'd come to him for advice on that. “Friendships are a lot like that. You do things that are good for the other person.”

“I water them?” Now Parker looked even more confused. Why did she have to be so damn literal sometimes?

“No, but you gotta take care of them.” Alec desperately thought of some examples. “Like when we go to Sophie's shows and pretend that we liked them.”

“So lying to people makes them your friends?”

“No. Well, not if you want a good friendship.” This wasn't going so well. “Sometimes you need to lie to people to take care of them. How would Sophie feel if we told her she was the worst actress in the world?”

“Bad.” Parker replied. It was a start, she seemed to be getting it. “But you told Eliot he smelled like shit the other day. That didn't make him happy.”

“He did smell like shit.” Poor guy had gotten the bad end of that assignment. “He wasn't happy to be told he smelled like shit, but he would have felt worse if I'd let him walk around smelling like that.”

Parker didn't say anything for a bit, she seemed to be thinking over what he'd said. “So being friends with someone means that you do things that are good for them, but sometimes you have to be mean in order to do the good thing?”

“Yes.” It's was close enough. Alec was more than ready for this conversation to be over with. You can't tell people how to be friends, you just do it. “Like with your plant. You water it and put it in the sun, but you also have to cut off the dead bits on occasion.”

“Okay.” She still looked like she hadn't quite grasped what they were talking about, but she'd stopped pacing. Alec was ready to turn around and go back to his computer when she walked over and hugged him. “Thank you.”

“Um, you're welcome?” He brought his arms up and patted her on the back. Girl was nice, but really disturbing sometimes. Parker smiled at him and walked out of the room. Sighing he turned around and went back to his computer.

It was a couple of hours later that Eliot walked in and tapped him on the shoulder. Turning around Alec looked up at him, “What?”

“Something is wrong with Parker.”

Alec wasn't sure he'd ever seen Eliot look that freaked out. “Lots of things are wrong with her.”

“No, this was different.” Eliot looked over at the door like she was going to burst into the room. “I was sitting in my office reading and she walked in and gave me a glass of water. Then she opened the blinds and told me I smelled nice.”

Alec looked up at him and tried to think of something to say. Nothing came to mind so he settled for laughing instead.


End file.
